A staple of science fiction and super hero genres. The clone is an artificially produced genetic copy of an already existing creature. Many clones retain the original's characteristics and powers, but often result in warped and unstable characteristics.

Overview

Cloned characters have been a staple in comic books for so many years, it is currently difficult to discern when the first appearance of a cloned character was. Usually a clone can be used to create emotional confusion & turmoil for a character (such as the effect of the Gwen Stacy clone in Spider-Man's personal life) or clones have been mass produced (such as the Clone Troopers from Star Wars).

Cloning characters often leads to confusing storylines, which new creative teams find difficult to follow. This has led to clones being created from characters who are already cloned, and even the genetic manipulation of the clone to change characteristics and even gender. However, the one staple of a clone is that they must be an artificially created life form based on the genetic template of a pre-existing life form. A clone does not have to be based on a human character, but as many characters are either human or humanoid then the majority of known clones appear to be human.

Clones in Comics

Alphabetically listed are characters who have been cloned, followed by the characters who are their clones.